A Lethbridge College Kodiak athlete is showing her dedication to sport after physical and emotional setbacks earlier in her basketball career.
Emily Greeno, a third-year point guard grew up in Calgary and had been playing basketball for her entire life. Since she was five-years-old, she watched her older sisters play Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) level basketball, which lead her to want to follow in their footsteps.
Her father also had a heavy influence on her basketball career. Greeno was in Grade 9 when she found out that her father had passed away.
“In a way, [basketball] was a coping mechanism for me to deal with his loss,” Greeno said. “I learned basketball, in a way, is a tool to process life through the emotions of disappointment, loss and grief, but also excitement and joy.”
She said he passed away around the same time she started to take basketball more seriously. Although her father is no longer physically with her, she still feels like she is living out their dream of basketball together.
In Grade 9, Greeno began to try out for provincial teams to help her reach the competitive level she wanted to play at. This helped her get scouted to play for the University of Calgary after graduating high school.
Unfortunately, during her first season she tore her ACL, forcing her to get surgery and sit out the rest of the year. After recovering, she went on to play another season with the U of C Dinos.
Through the grief of her father’s death and the disappointment of her ACL injury, she said basketball taught her a lot about healing.
After completing her second season, Greeno thought she was done with basketball. She went on to complete her kinesiology degree with a major in leadership in coaching and pedagogy from U of C and got married, which led her to Lethbridge.
Greeno began attending scrimmage games at Lethbridge College and decided to go to a basketball identification camp to see if she could play at the post-secondary level again. This is what led her to become a Lethbridge College Kodiak.
While her father is no longer physically with her, she said she still feels like she is living out their dream of basketball together and said the Kodiaks gave her that opportunity.
Deanna Simpson, head coach of the Kodiaks women’s basketball team said Greeno is known as the team’s “steady” because of her consistent plays and evident previous post-secondary experience.
“She has really helped our team grow in everything she does and I always know I can trust her out on the court to make the right decisions,” Simpson said.
Simpson also mentioned Greeno’s perseverance is to be admired, noting other teammates have been nothing but supportive of her resilience. Greeno said watching her team connect and develop is one of the highlights of her Kodiak career so far.
“Having gone through a lot, it made me realize that winning and losing doesn’t matter,” she said.
She said what really matters is the effort players put into the sport both on the court and with teammates.
Greeno now has two years of eligibility left, but said she doesn’t know if she will pursue her career as a player or put her coaching degree to work. Either way, she said she now looks at basketball as a gift and blessing.